Romaine expected in stores soon; new labels with date, field information coming

Government and industry officials say new labels for romaine lettuce will help keep the public safe during events such as the current E. coli outbreak. But, most entities in the supply chain are not involved in the initiative and not all forms of romaine will carry the voluntary labels for consumers.

Growers are working on their new labels now and will begin shipping romaine as soon as they start using them, according to announcements Nov. 26 from produce industry groups and the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA announcement also reported the agency has determined the current outbreak is linked to romaine only from specific areas of California.

A week ago, both the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned against all romaine in all forms from all growing regions. That warning is now narrowed to romaine only from “the Central Coast growing regions of central and northern California.”